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April 27–30, 2025
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Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Kaichao Sun, Aurelia Chenu, Jiri Krepel, Konstantin Mikityuk, Rakesh Chawla
Nuclear Technology | Volume 183 | Number 3 | September 2013 | Pages 484-503
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors / Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A19436
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), as a fast-neutron spectrum system, is characterized by several performance advantages. In particular, the long-term operation of an SFR core in a closed fuel cycle will lead to an equilibrium state, where both reactivity and fuel mass flow stabilize. However, the SFR has one dominating neutronics drawback, namely, there is generally a positive reactivity effect when there is voiding of the sodium coolant in the core. Furthermore, this effect becomes even stronger in the equilibrium closed fuel cycle. Considering that in a hypothetical SFR unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF) accident scenario, i.e., flow rundown without SCRAM, sodium boiling can be anticipated to occur, it is crucial to assess the corresponding impact of the positive sodium void effect.An optimization study for improving the safety characteristics of a large [3600-MW(thermal)] SFR has currently been conducted in the above context. The dynamic core response to a reference ULOF scenario is investigated with the use of a coupled three-dimensional neutronics/thermal-hydraulics PARCS/TRACE model. The starting point of the study is the reference core design considered in the framework of the Collaborative Project on the European Sodium Fast Reactor (CP-ESFR). To reduce the sodium void effect, the core has been modified by introducing an upper sodium plenum, along with a boron layer above it. Furthermore, the original core height-to-diameter ratio is reduced. In comparison to the reference ESFR core behavior, certain improvements are achieved, thanks to the static neutronics optimization carried out. However, these changes are found, in themselves, to be insufficient as regards the prevention of cladding and fuel melting during the considered ULOF event.Thermal-hydraulics optimization has thus been considered necessary, in order to (a) prevent sodium flow blockage in the fuel channel and (b) avoid boiling instabilities caused by the vaporization/condensation process in the upper sodium plenum. The corresponding measures taken are (a) the introduction of an innovative wrapper design, which features small openings in each side surface of the fuel assembly, and (b) replacement of the original upper sodium plenum by an extended fission gas plenum. Following implementation of these thermal-hydraulics-related design changes, one arrives at a final configuration of the SFR core, in which, for the selected accident scenario, a new "steady state" involving stable sodium boiling is found to be achievable, with melting of neither cladding nor fuel. Such a satisfactory behavior has been confirmed not only for the beginning-of-life state of the core but also for the equilibrium closed fuel cycle.